'Focused' Melvin Guillard expecting war with old teammate Donald Cerrone at UFC 150

http://mmajunkie.comDENVER – Just about everyone believes Melvin Guillard’s fight with Donald Cerrone (18-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is destined to be UFC 150’s “Fight of the Night.”

Of course, Guillard (30-10-2 MMA, 11-6 UFC) has been in this position before and wound up in a relatively uneventful contest (see his UFC 119 matchup with Jeremy Stephens).

Not this time, though, says “The Young Assassin.” For the co-main event with Cerrone, Guillard is buying into the hype every bit as much as most MMA fans, and he expects to deliver a memorable battle.

“I’m focused,” Guillard told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I know how tough this is going to be. I’m expecting a three-round war. The only added pressure I see is that I want it to live up to the hype. I don’t want it to be a big upset like the Jeremy Stephens fight. I really want the fans to get a ‘Fight of the Night’ out of this.”

Guillard and Cerrone meet on the pay-per-view-broadcast main card of Saturday’s UFC 150 event, which takes place at Denver’s Pepsi Center. The bout was first announced one month ago, and fans immediately began to salivate at the possibilities. Two former teammates, more than familiar with each others’ strengths and weaknesses, and two strike-first brawlers who will have no issue with firing bombs from the pocket.

It’s the same type of hype that surrounded that infamous Stephens fight, which ended in a lackluster split decision.

For his part, Guillard doesn’t believe there’s any chance of that happening this time around.

“I think, for me, I didn’t really play into the hype of everybody wanting [the Stephens fight] to be a ‘Fight of the Night,'” Guillard said. “I just kind of took it in stride, and when people made their opinions about it, I just kept myself grounded and focused on my task. This time, I know everybody wants to see ‘Fight of the Night.’ I do, too.”

For Guillard, a win would be huge. He defeated Fabricio Camoes in July, but that was after suffering through a pair of losses to Jim Miller and Joe Lauzon. However, a win over Cerrone would again earn him some consideration among the lightweight division’s best fighters. At 29 years old, Guillard knows he has to take advantage of his current opportunities.

“We both agreed to go in there and bang and give the fans what they want,” Guillard said. “This is Donald’s hometown, so I know he’s going to bring it. I’m just keeping myself grounded and focused on the task. The biggest task of all is winning.

“I’m tired of getting close to a certain accomplishment and then having setbacks. Right now, my life is belt around success. Success starts outside of the ring and inside it. I just want to be successful.”

And so the two will meet on Saturday night with bragging rights on the line, as well as an above-average shot at scoring the evening’s “Fight of the Night” bonus. It sounds like there’s a loose gentlemen’s agreement between the two to stay on the feet and battle it out in a striking fury.

However, Guillard said he’s ready for anything.

“Everyone has an agreement until they get hit with one hard shot,” Guillard said.

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